Natixis Advisors LLC Has $296.68 Million Position in Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its Salesforce stake by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 138,754 shares and bringing its total holding to 1,119,932 shares worth about $296.7 million.
• Salesforce reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $3.88 in earnings per share and $11.13 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 13.3% year over year.
• The company continues to draw support from AI-related optimism and institutional interest, including a $25 billion share repurchase authorization and a new quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share.

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,119,932 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 138,754 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Salesforce worth $296,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Mathes Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,976,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,548,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 2,774 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is benefiting from a broader rebound in software stocks after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang eased fears that AI will disrupt the software industry, giving CRM and peers a fresh tailwind. NOW, IBM, software stocks surge as Huang eases AI fears; analysts see more upside
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also focused on Salesforce’s expanding AI strategy, including a reported Contentful acquisition and continued rollout of Agentforce and related enterprise AI tools, which reinforces the company’s growth narrative. CRM Stock Jumps Amid Software Rally — Company Expands AI Push With Contentful Acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings remain a key support for the stock: Salesforce beat on both EPS and revenue, posted strong year-over-year growth, and delivered solid cash flow, helping sustain investor confidence despite broader market volatility. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Beats on Earnings and Revenue
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce continues to attract heavy investor attention online, reflecting elevated interest in the stock, but the article did not add new fundamental information likely to move shares. Investors Heavily Search Salesforce, Inc. (CRM): Here is What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks review of Salesforce’s international revenue exposure is mainly a reminder that a meaningful portion of sales comes from overseas markets, which can affect stability and growth, but it was not a fresh catalyst. Salesforce (CRM) Reliance on International Sales: What Investors Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary continues to question whether Salesforce can thrive in an AI-dominated software landscape, and BMO trimmed its price target after earnings, which suggests some caution remains around valuation and future upside. Is Salesforce (CRM) the Best Undervalued Stock to Buy According to the Financial Media?

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the purchase, the director owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 9.5%

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $209.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $171.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business's 50-day moving average is $181.06 and its 200-day moving average is $210.11. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.52 and a 1 year high of $276.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 20.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Salesforce in a report on Monday, May 18th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Salesforce from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 28th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $257.97.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.

Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.

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